The Boondocks

With the approach of singer R. Kelly's trial for inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor, Riley and Huey find themselves on opposite sides of the case being prosecuted by their friend, District Attorney Thomas DuBois. For Huey, the R&B superstar's lewd acts are fair game for prosecution. Yet, seeing the prosecution as an unfair attack, Riley decides to go to the trial and join the singer's fans, who are protesting outside the courthouse. And as Granddad waits patiently for the boys to return, Uncle Ruckus makes it clear just how little he thinks of R. Kelly and his ilk. Upon arriving at the courthouse, Riley immediately joins the fan protest, leaving Huey with the long list of well known black personalities, including Rosa Parks, Cornell West, Julian Bond, Dick Gregory, and Tavis Smiley, who are voicing their displeasure with the singer's behavior. However, when Riley takes it upon himself to make his feelings known to a news reporter, Huey steps in to spare him and their family any further embarrassment. But while the harshest judgments of R. Kelly's behavior come from Ruckus, who makes it clear that he would have no problem convicting him with no deliberation, both Huey and the D.A. are shocked at the defense lawyer's effort to paint the prosecution as racist. Following the defense attorney's opening remarks, and in the face of Riley's threats to take revenge, Thomas shows the jury an incriminating video of R. Kelly and his young victim. However, after the teenage girl's testimony only serves to undermine the prosecution's case, R. Kelly's attorney looks to prove that his client is actually an upstanding citizen with nothing but respect for black women, unlike Thomas, who is married to a white woman. So, as Granddad and Ruckus square off over the subject of race, after the singer's attorney successfully casts his client as the real victim and sends Thomas's case down the drain, it falls to Huey to argue that, despite his acquittal, R. Kelly is no hero. © 2005 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As Riley and Huey ponder just what line has to be crossed in order for a woman to be a full-fledged hooker, Cristal successfully avoids telling Granddad the truth about her occupation as she gets him to agree to let her move in. And though she's able to keep Granddad in the dark, when it comes to Huey and Riley, Cristal makes no bones about the fact that she's employed in the sex trade. However, even when his grandsons decide to reveal the truth about his sexy young girlfriend's profession, Granddad refuses to believe it. Having failed to persuade their grandfather, Huey and Riley turn to Cristal, demanding that she move out at once. But with Cristal claiming she's in transition from her life as a prostitute to something more respectable, the boys have no choice but to let Granddad see the harsh truth for himself and, camera in hand, they clandestinely document her real life. Although Granddad wants to believe the incriminating photos are nothing but fakes, the arrival of Cristal's pimp, A Pimp Named Slickback, finally convinces him of the truth. However, when Granddad offers her a chance to start a new life with him and the boys, Cristal realizes that it's more work than she's cut out for and takes off after her pimp. © 2005 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To improve his grandsons' behavior and help them cope with living in a world that can be hostile to blacks, Granddad looks for a way to school Riley and Huey in the ways of the white supremacist power structure. Though both boys are very skeptical, Granddad gets just the opportunity he's been seeking when bank president Ed Wuncler drops by the house to assess the Freeman's suitability to live in his exclusive, and largely white, neighborhood. And once Granddad and the kids get his seal of approval, Ed invites them to a party to celebrate his grandson's return from the war in Iraq. Reminding them of all his hard work helping to secure their civil rights, Granddad insists that Riley and Huey join him at the Wunclers. But when they arrive, Granddad and the boys must first convince Uncle Ruckus, a longtime Wuncler employee, that they have actually been invited. Once inside, the Freemans and the rest of the guests are surprised at grandson Ed the Third's crass behavior. And as Riley delightedly joins the guest of honor to check out his weapons collection, Granddad joins Wuncler for a drink, leaving a stunned Huey in the hands of a local minister. As Riley is upstairs being entertained by Ed the Third and Huey attempts to persuade anyone who will listen that Ronald Reagan was actually the devil; Granddad and Ed quietly make fun of the other guests. Upon getting wind of Huey's political rant, Granddad warns him against saying anything else that would embarrass him. As Uncle Ruckus tries to persuade the guests not to trust the Freemans, an increasingly drunk Ed the Third presses Riley to take a shot at the assembled partygoers. But when he does, Riley accidentally shoots Ed the Third instead. And when Granddad attempts to apologize for the boys' behavior, he's stunned to finds that Ed doesn't care. © 2005 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Having defined a "Nigga Moment" as; when ignorance overwhelms the mind of an otherwise logical Negro male. Huey and his brother are forced to watch as just such a moment overtakes their grandfather. After protesting when seventy-three-year-old Colonel H. Stinkmeaner runs into his car, Granddad accepts the old man's challenge to a fight. However, after he is bested by Stinkmeaner, Granddad faces some harsh criticism from the boys when they point out that the old man is blind. Though Huey suggests that he just ignore it, the public humiliation he's forced to endure after losing to Colonel Stinkmeaner has Granddad looking for a rematch. To make sure Granddad knows what he's up against; Huey shows him a videotape of a movie about the legendary blind Samurai swordsman, Zatoichi. So, despite Uncle Ruckus's contention that black men can't fight, Huey and Riley enlist a blindfolded Tom to train their grandfather. As the training gets underway, word of the rematch spreads, presenting Riley with an easy way to make some quick cash selling tickets and DVDs of the fight. Though Huey and Tom try talking him out of it, Granddad goes ahead with the fight and not only wins, but kills his blind and elderly opponent. Finally, as the assembled crowd turns ugly after the short match, Granddad avoids a prison sentence when, due to Tom's foresight in getting the bout sanctioned by the state boxing commission, he is legally indemnified for the fatality. © 2005 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

In an effort to capitalize on Granddad's embarrassing sunglasses, Riley claims that he is blind when he contacts Pimp My Ride to ask that the show's host, Xzibit, do something to improve their family's car, Dorothy. When Xzibit takes the bait and shows up to work on the ailing junker, Riley employs a series of clever diversions to keep Granddad in the dark and prevent the show's host from learning that the old man can really see. However, after Granddad learns the truth, the prospect of getting some much-needed repairs for Dorothy prompts him to play along with Riley s lie. Meanwhile, Huey's disgust with the deception attracts the interest of a phantom who calls himself the White Shadow. Dismissing Huey's claim that he's being followed by a secret government agent, Granddad and Riley anxiously await the delivery of the refurbished Dorothy. Yet, as Riley suggests that he consider adopting a more streetwise name, Granddad discovers that what started out as a little white lie has spun out of control when a crew from Extreme Makeover Home Edition arrives to build a new wing onto the "blind man's" house, one that Riley has claimed is also a homeless shelter. Though Huey strenuously objects to the deception, the prospect of having a sexy bachelor pad is too much for Granddad to resist as both Tom and Jazmine help to perpetuate the ruse in hopes of establishing show business careers. With Huey's insistence on facing facts seemingly at odds with his reports of seeing the elusive White Shadow, the wholesale destruction of his house causes Granddad to demand an end to Riley's ruse, at least until he gets a look at Dorothy. Yet, in all the excitement, it's revealed that Granddad can actually see. And when the truth causes all work on the partially-demolished house to stop, a sympathetic Xzibit offers Granddad the keys to his car, for a price. Finally, as Huey decides that the White Shadow is nothing more than a figment of his overactive imagination, Riley and Granddad abandon their ruined house for the comfort of their new car. © 2006 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As the Freemans prepare for Halloween, Tom's longstanding nightmare of being sexually assaulted in prison threatens to come true when he is mistakenly arrested for the murder of a seventeen-year-old boy. Desperate to stay out of jail, and knowing well how easy it is for a black man to be wrongfully accused of a crime, Tom begs Riley and Huey for help and to keep his predicament a secret from everyone -- especially Jazmine and Granddad. With just five hours to find the real killer before Tom is moved from a holding cell to a real jail, Riley seeks help from his neighbor, Ed the Third. Realizing that he is going to need help, Ed the Third enlists his Iraq war buddy, Gin Rummy, to find the murderer who's been dubbed the X-Box Killer. As the search by Riley and his posse gets underway, back at police headquarters, Tom is encouraged to confess to a crime he didn't commit in exchange for a promise that he won't be jailed. Knowing all-too-well how the police work, Tom refuses. So, as Huey sets out to tactfully find a witness, Ed the Third and Rummy choose to get tough and intimidate someone in confessing While the harsh tactics employed by Ed the Third and his pal fail to get results, Huey's investigation turns up a suspect. However, instead of heading directly to the killer's address, when Ed the Third and Rummy stop to buy something to drink first, they land in the middle of an argument with the Arab owner of a local convenience store. And though the confrontation escalates into gunplay and causes a delay that allows the X-Box Killer to escape and kill again, the new murder serves to vindicate Tom. © 2005 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Following several very prominent public run-ins that have thrust their battle into the public eye, Riley is just one of the many fans who are anxiously awaiting the latest news in the ongoing feud between urban gangsta rapper Gangstalicious and his Southern counterpart, Eat Dirt. Hearing that Gangstalicious has been shot during a concert, Riley asks Granddad for permission to visit the fallen rap star. Refusing to take no for an answer, he first tries getting hurt himself so that he can be admitted to the hospital, too, before tricking Granddad into sending him on an errand to the store. Yet, despite explicit instructions not to visit the injured rapper, Riley takes a detour to Woodcrest Memorial Hospital. At the hospital, Gangstalicious tells Riley that, rather than the work of Eat Dirt's crew, the latest shooting was carried out by some gang members he owed money to from his days as a drug dealer. Gangstalicious panics when he is told that there are no more police securing the. And when Riley is distracted by a phone call from Granddad, a hit squad led by a Gangstalicious's nemesis, Lincoln, arrives to finish what they started. As the danger of the situation becomes apparent, Riley discovers that, contrary to his tough public image, Gangstalicious is a coward. As they try to flee, a frightened Gangstalicious drops his gun, leaving him and Riley defenseless. Hijacking a white fan's Honda Civic, they try to outrun their pursuers, but are caught and taken to a clearing in the woods. And when the efforts to kill them are undone by poor marksmanship, Riley is stunned to learn that the dispute between Gangstalicious and Lincoln is actually the result of a gay love affair gone awry. © 2005 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Following one of Granddad's legendary soul food dinners, the Freeman family's friends happily pass out after the rich and fatty food causes them to be struck with what is called "The Itis." Listening to Granddad recount a dream about owning a restaurant filled with beds where diners could fall asleep after eating, banker and neighbor Ed Wuncler invites him to look at a health food restaurant he owns with an eye towards making a change. And after complaining about the politically liberal clientele that the Frutorium attracts, Ed fires nearly everyone on the staff before setting Granddad up in a restaurant they call the Itis Reeling in horror at Granddad's latest culinary creation, a half-pound bacon and cheese laden hamburger he calls "The Luther," the family's lone vegetarian, Huey, warns against going too far. Ignoring Huey's warnings, Granddad heads for the kitchen and, with Tom serenading the diners and Uncle Ruckus keeping the beds filled with customers, the Itis opens its doors. And even though Huey embarks on a campaign to convince the staff and diners that it's a health hazard, the food's addictive qualities make the Itis a big hit. Soon after opening, the restaurant's success begins to catch up with it. Because of their addiction to the food, the diners lose interest in everything except getting their next meal, turning what was once a prosperous upper class neighborhood into a crime-infested slum. In a matter of weeks, even Granddad begins to wonder if he may have made a mistake. And though Granddad continues to fight back against Huey's campaign, with the first wave of lawsuits filed against them, Ed pulls the plug and shuts the Itis down. © 2006 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As a leader in the United Church of Santa, no one is more excited about the arrival of Christmas, and Santa Claus -- than Jazmine. However, her excitement turns to horror when, while she's at the Woodcrest Mall to celebrate his arrival, Santa is attacked by an assailant who turns out to be none other than Riley Freeman. His identity as the Santa Stalker still secret, Riley then writes a threatening letter to Santa, complaining about having not been given the fancy car wheels he asked for. After he's offered complete artistic control over the project by his teacher, Mr. Ooberwitz, Huey agrees to direct his school's annual Christmas play. As planning for the project gets underway, Ooberwitz worries after seeing how far Huey is prepared to go to realize his creative vision when hires of Quincy Jones as the musical director. But when Huey arrives on the set to find his cast fooling around, he fires nearly everyone and prepares to start from scratch with an A-list Hollywood cast. As the manhunt for the Santa Stalker continues, Uncle Ruckus dons an elf costume and goes undercover to protect the mall's new Santa Claus. Still determined to get revenge, Riley takes dead aim at with a BB gun and, in the ensuing pandemonium, the new Santa narrowly escapes. Meanwhile, despite protests about the production's lavish cost, Huey and Quincy assemble a cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Regina King, and Alicia Keyes and, ignoring orders from the principal not to casts a black Jesus, they put on a critically-acclaimed production that ends up costing Mr. Ooberwitz his job. Finally, after he's recruited to fill in for the mall's Santa, Uncle Ruckus is left to console a disillusioned Jazmine. © 2005 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

In Huey's dream, instead of being killed by a gunshot in 1968, civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. fell into a coma and then woke up thirty-two years later in time to be turned away at the polls when he tries to vote in the 2000 presidential election. His mythic stature seemingly insured, Dr. King is greeted as a hero and offered lucrative book and movie deals to chronicle his life. However, after he asks that Americans show compassion by turning the other cheek following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, King's legend crumbles, making him a pariah in the public eye. It's at a sparsely attended book signing that Dr. King is reintroduced to his old friend and co-worker in the civil rights movement, Granddad. Accepting an invitation to dine at the Freeman home, Dr. King tells Huey, Riley, Tim, and Uncle Ruckus how Granddad was overshadowed by Rosa Parks during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Sitting down to watch some television, Dr. King is appalled by how the black community is represented. And when the civil rights leader asks why so little improvement has been made in the wake of his shooting, Huey suggests that everyone has been waiting for him to come back and save them. Though Dr. King is depressed, Huey insists that he not give up and, to get things started, suggests holding an emergency action planning meeting for a new political party. As Dr. King takes to the airwaves to promote the venture, harsh criticism in the conservative press sends him to an urban promotions firm that uses hip-hop radio to get the word out. Yet, instead of an organizing meeting for their political party, those who show are just looking to party. However, after he uses the opportunity to deliver a scathing critique of the black community before moving to Canada, Dr. King inspires a revolution that eventually leads to Oprah Winfrey being elected President of the United States, in Huey's dream! © 2006 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

When word arrives that his old friend Mo Jackson has died, Granddad and the boys embark on a trip back home to Chicago for the funeral. During the plane ride, Granddad recounts how, as young fighter pilots during World War II, he and Mo competed head to head with each other as they fought the Nazis. When Huey points out that he doesn't seem to be very sad over his old friend's passing, Granddad notes that Mo was disloyal and did something that could never be forgiven. But once they arrive back in their old neighborhood, Granddad is stunned to discover that, along with what he's being given in the will; Mo has left specific instructions for him to deliver the eulogy as his ashes are placed into Lake Michigan. Meanwhile, Huey is upset to learn that his best friend back in Chicago, Cairo, has ditched him for someone new. On the party boat that's been outfitted for the occasion, Granddad joins Mo's family and friends for the funeral. However, already upset to discover that the Mo's memorial includes a war medal that actually belongs to him, Granddad learns that his old friend was badmouthing him right up until the day he died. So, after accidentally killing the dove that was released with the late man's ashes, Granddad cannot hold his tongue any longer and proceeds to tell everyone how petty, immature and selfish Mo really was. And though Mo's widow takes offense at the harsh words, nearly everyone else at the funeral agrees. As the mourners argue over the late man's legacy, Granddad uses the occasion to tell Aunt Cookie how he never forgave Mo for having stolen away a girl that he thought he might have married someday. But, after Cookie reveals that the girl in question turned out to be more than just a little ugly, Granddad realizes that he has wasted the last fifty years hating Mo. Finally, after Huey discovers that what he had with Cairo can never be reclaimed, Granddad expresses regret for letting his friendship with Mo die, only to learn that all he's been left in the dead man's will is an old jar of peanuts. © 2006 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Huey (Regina King) has to stop Riley (Regina King) and a small gang of misfit idiots from nabbing the talk show deity, Oprah. © 2006 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

As Riley is spray-painting graffiti on a stately Woodcrest home, a passerby offers some suggestions on how to improve the work. Accused of defacing his neighbor's property, a defiant Riley avoids being jailed only after Granddad agrees to pay for the damages. And when Granddad decides that part of his punishment should be art lessons, Riley is stunned to find that his teacher is none other than the mysterious man who helped him with his mural. Meanwhile, Huey designs an experiment to chart the effects of watching too much black television. On his first day at Ross's studio, Riley shows little interest in applying himself. When his teacher dismisses his work before tossing it into the trash, Riley decides that he has something to prove after all. However, after he's caught turning in something he copied off the art teacher's website, Riley rises to the challenge and submits a drawing that his new mentor finds worthy. Much to Riley's surprise, the teacher even agrees to help him tag another home with graffiti, but not with the violent images that the youngster wants. Convinced to anonymously paint something that's both sensitive and beautiful, Riley is stunned when, rather than being denounced as vandalism, his guerilla artwork is praised by everyone, including Granddad. Meanwhile, a few days of the black TV experiment prove to be more than enough to damage Huey's mind. After creating a mural that garners even more praise than the last one, Riley is upset to find that it has been signed by a number of artists all wanting to claim credit for the new masterpiece. When Riley tries to correct the record, no one, including his own family -- believes him. So, to prove he's the real artist, he enlists the help of his teacher to secretly paint a mural of his grandfather's wedding. Finally, after the teacher parts ways with Riley after helping him avoid being caught by the police, even though Granddad tearfully appreciates the gesture, he insists that the painting be removed. And after proving that watching too much black television is bad for one's health, Huey ends his experiment as quickly as he started it. © 2006 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

An unseasonable February heat wave that's settled over Woodcrest has tempers flaring on Timid Deer Lane. When Riley opens a fire hydrant and invites all of his neighbors to join him, Uncle Ruckus threatens to call the police. But when Ruckus hops in his truck to look for help, he's set upon by three police cruisers and fired upon by their all-too-edgy cops. As the police and news crews investigate the shooting, Jazmine sets up a lemonade stand where, unbowed by the heat, Huey tries to convince the customers of a conspiracy to wipe out the black community. It doesn't take more than one look at Jazmine's success for businessman Ed Wuncler to offer to buy the lemonade stand in exchange for the pony she's saving for. However, only after she and her dad, Tom, make a deal for the stand does Jazmine truly see how ruthless a boss Wuncler can be. As Huey warns Jazmine that she's teaming up with a known corporate criminal, the investigation into the shooting ends when Uncle Ruckus refuses a big cash settlement in exchange for realizing a lifelong dream of becoming a police officer. The heat wave continues and Wuncler ramps up his pressure on Jazmine who, resolved to have a pony, refuses to listen as Huey urges her to end her exploitation. Although her dad decides that she's had enough, Wuncler's threats to let the pony die if she quits are enough to keep Jazmine on the job. And even when Huey enlists human rights protesters to liberate her, Jazmine remains committed to do whatever it takes to get her pony. Yet, her dream turns into a nightmare when, after Wuncler shows up with lemonade of his own to sell, she learns that there's no way that the deal would have ever led to her realizing her dream. Finally, after the crowd and the police turn ugly and burn the stand the ground, a cold snap puts the ever-optimistic Jazmine right back into business selling hot chocolate. © 2006 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

After learning that he has a cancerous tumor and only six months to live, Uncle Ruckus has a vision of a heaven where the white man is king. Told that he can live in White Heaven if he renounces his blackness, Ruckus sets out to demonstrate his newfound piety. And though Granddad doesn't want to hear any of it, Tom begins to wonder if Ruckus might be onto something. Meanwhile, Huey is committed to stopping the execution of Black activist Ahmad Shabazz who was sentenced to death for the 1970 shooting of a police officer, despite the fact that there was nothing connecting him to the crime. But when he can't persuade the governor to stay the execution, Huey devises an elaborate scheme he dubs Operation Black Steel to break the condemned man out of prison and then seek asylum in Cuba. To help spread the gospel of race-based redemption, Ruckus enlists black conservative commentator Armstrong Elders. As a result, Granddad decides that he has to do something to stop Ruckus and his racist revival scheduled for the Woodcrest Post Pavilion, leaving Huey with no one to drive him to the prison to carry out Operation Black Steel. Even when Huey notes that Ahmad's life is in danger if he doesn't get there on time, Granddad suggests that he pray for the condemned man.Leaving Huey stranded, Granddad and Tom head for the revival. As Ruckus's racist message begins to take hold among the black audience, Tom is swept up, forcing Granddad to try and stop him from becoming a convert. Meanwhile, left without an alternative, Huey decides to pray for Ahmad to be spared. When a lightning strike that shuts down power to the electric chair gives the governor time to review the overwhelming evidence of Ahmad's innocence, Huey's prayers are answered. And when the lightning bolt that saved Ahmad also hits Uncle Ruckus and cures his tumor, his days as a preacher suddenly come to an end as everyone decides to forget they ever heard his racist preaching. © 2006 Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved.